15U at the Rock: Five to Follow | Catchers
July 3, 2019
The PBR Wisconsin-hosted 15U at The Rock Championships took place at The Rock Sports Complex in Franklin, Wis., last weekend and completely lived up to our staff's lofty expectations. There was highly competitive baseball throughout the whole tournament, and with many of the Midwest’s best teams in attendance, it was a great opportunity for us to see some of the top talent in the region.
We have already begun analysis for the event – starting with our loaded Scout Blog featuring well over 100 names, which can be found here. Our staff also published an All-Tournament team, which can be found here. Our day-by-day recaps of the event will also be linked below.
+ Day 1 Quick Hits
+ Day 2 Quick Hits
+ Day 3 Quick Hits
In the next portion of our tournament coverage, we will begin to highlight the best-of-the-rest, the prospects you need to know after those named to our All-Tournament roster. This article will specifically breakdown the top catchers in attendance, after those named to the all-tourney team.
Catcher
Weber Neels, C, East Ridge (MN), 2022 | NorthStar Navy
6-foot, 175-pound catcher, strong athletic build high-end defender at the position. Showed easy arm strength with carry, short over the top slot, quick release, showed ability to get to arm strength with ease and while off balance. Got a 2.29 pop in game on a caught stealing. High follow catcher.
Hayden Christiansen, C, Richmond-Burton (IL), 2022 | Hitters Baseball Navy
Recent Xavier commit. Started his day hot with a double over the left fielders head and followed it up hosing a runner at second in the very next inning. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound RHH sports a short, compact path with rhythm through contact and a gap-to-gap approach as he lined the double to left and a single to right. He finished 2-for-2 with a 2B, a BB, one RBI and a run scored. Also, 3-for-3 in caught stealing as he repeated 2.08-2.10 to second in between innings and in-game to second. Athletic actions with fluid footwork and a true ball to second with carry and accuracy; Called a solid game behind the dish.
Zakary Goodwin, C/INF, Roseville (MN), 2022 | Great Lakes Baseball Academy
Strong, athletic frame. 5-foot-9, 145 pound left-handed hitting catcher that caught the first of two games on Saturday afternoon for the Lumberjacks. Balanced setup, smooth load, short stride with a slight leg kick. Swings a quick bat because of his quick hands, level path to the baseball, smooth throughout with not a lot of moving parts, confident at the plate. Went 4-for-5 at the plate on the day with four singles and a walk. Aggressive on the basepaths and is an above-average runner. Defensively, looked the part behind the plate. Recorded pop time of 2.13 both in-game and in warmups, would have thrown a runner out had it not been for a defensive miscue in game. Displayed natural defensive actions behind the plate, receives the ball well, bought his pitcher some strikes, adept blocker, showcased a strong arm behind the plate. Confident in himself, vocal leader on the field, has an advanced knowledge for what’s going on and how to command an infield. Goodwin also saw time at third base. He showed good range at the hot corner on multiple plays in the morning session. Also showed the ability to move both way laterally with good footwork. He showcased a strong arm with carry for accurate throws from deep in the hole.
Charlie Jarvis, C/OF, Arrowhead (WI), 2022 | STiKS Academy Black
Strong, athletic build. Right-handed hitting catcher. Balanced setup, smooth load, short stride with a toe-tap, transfers weight well during load. Quick hands, ball jumps off the bat. Went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs against Top Tier North. Absolutely smoked a double to straight away center field to essentially clinch his team the victory. Defensively, recorded an in-game pop time of 2.23 twice. Natural receiver, soft block, strong arm behind the plate. Vocal, leader on the field, completely confident in himself both behind the dish and at the plate.
Heath Venne, C, Muskego (WI), 2022 | Hitters Baseball White
Venne had himself a nice day at the plate on Thursday. He lined a hard single the opposite way in game one and pulled a homer to straightaway left in game two. Venne has a loose barrel in the right-handed box and has all of the actions from behind the dish, including a strong arm and quick catch-and-throws down to second.
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